The defending champions of the Khaya Majola Week (for u19 players), Lions, saw their chances of retaining their title suffer a major setback on Monday, the opening day of the tournament. Free State defeated them by 22 runs on Bishops' Frank Reid Oval.
The winning side put up 195 runs, thanks mainly to their opening batsman Christian Kind (90), who was well supported by Dakalo Leketa (48). Together, the pair added a vital 80 runs for the fifth wicket.
Lions mustered 173 all out in response. Corné Botha (46), Armaan Manack (37), and Richard Seletswane (25) were the only batsmen to offer strong resistance.
Start of another Khaya Majola Week in the beautiful @CapeTown. #CricketWeek pic.twitter.com/TygB9jUM9l
— Vincent Barnes (@VincentBarnes60) December 16, 2024
For the Free State, Darion Rabie (3/24), Otto Krause (2/14), and Meyer Pretorius (2/17) caused most of the damage.
Another early favourite to win the title also suffered a setback on the opening day when The Titans went down to Boland by 24 runs.
Batting first, Boland tallied 219 all out, with JJ van der Sandt (59), Chad Ayford (45), and Jevohndré Jacobs (44) making the biggest contributions. Charl Prinsloo excelled with the ball, dismissing four Boland batsmen for only 24 runs.
Even though Divan de Villiers (70) and Lethabo Phahlamohlaka (33) shared a partnership of 100 runs for the Titans' fifth wicket, it wasn't enough to get their team over the line as they were dismissed for 195.
Leolan Davids (4/30) undermined the Titans' batting effort with his four-wicket haul.
The hosts, Western Province, began their week on a winning note by defeating the KZN Inland by six wickets.
Last year's South African Schools' captain, Beni Hansen (58), led the way with the bat. He and Siyabonga Venge (57) crafted a partnership of 104 runs for the third wicket.
Dolphins' Bandile Mbatha (5/16) claimed the only five-wicket haul of the first day in his team's tight two-wicket victory over Eastern Province.
EP was restricted to just 107 all out, but they nearly managed to pull off an upset. However, the Dolphins' captain, Ross Coetzee (39*), kept his cool to guide his team to a win.
Easterns scraped a nail-biting one-run victory over the Garden Route Badgers. Easterns' SA Schools' player Parth Patel was one of the game's standout performers with a versatile dis-play that included 24 runs with the bat and a bowling return of 2/16.
Border has the most experienced side at the tournament, and it showed as they comfortably defeated Northern Cape by nine wickets. Ryan Denston (4/15) and Canton Hartnick (3/18) made life difficult for the losing team's batsmen, who were restricted to 120 all out.
Summarised Scorecards:
KZN Inland 196/8 (Cian Fortmann 50, Marcell Wellmann 30, Sphamandla Dzanibe 27*; Daniel Nadasan 26, Charles Swart 22; Raeeq Daniels 3/38, Timothy Short 2/37, Mbulelo Dube 2/48);
Western Province 197/4 (Benni Hansen 58, Siyabonga Venge 57, Daniel Bosman 24*, Kashief Joseph 22). Western Province won by six wickets.
Free State 195 (Christian Kind 90, Dakalo Leketa 48; Jason Rowles 3/40, Ruan Strauss 2/22, Cole Francis 2/41);
Lions 173 (Corné Botha 46, Armaan Manack 37, Richard Seletswane 25, Kamogelo Phiri 22; Darion Rabie 3/24, Otto Krause 2/14, Meyer Pretorius 2/17, Hendru de Wet 2/29). Free State won by 22 runs.
Boland 219 (JJ van der Sandt 59, Chad Ayford 45, Jevohndré Jacobs 44, Stefan Conradie 23; Charl Prinsloo 4/24, Divan de Villiers 3/36);
Titans 195 (Divan de Villiers 70, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka 33, Marcus Bakker 22, Tshepang Laka 29; Leolan Davids 4/30, Sibulele Makeleni 2/48). Boland won by 24 runs.
Eastern Province 107 (Xander Elkington 50; Bandile Mbatha 5/16, Sandiswa Yeni 3/22);
Dolphins 108/8 (Ross Coetzee 39*, Shahzaad Perumal 20; Esa Gangat 3/18, Cayden Wilson 3/25). Dolphins won by two wickets.
Northern Cape 120 (Extras 39; Ryan Denston 4/15, Canton Hartnick 3/18, Hlumelo Ntola 2/54);
Border 121/1 (Adam Rogers 43*, Jacques van der Merwe 31*, Bevanoe Mayhtam 28; Raul Williams 1/15). Eastern Cape Inyathi won by nine wickets.
Mpumalanga 231/7 (Extras 60, Nathan Duncan 46, Jayden Meyer 39, Bruce Nel 24, John Duncan 22; Coetzee du Preez 2/28);
Limpopo 227/9 (Lukas van der Merwe 62, Extras 51, Maaz Mabummad 44*, Hanno van Zyl 38; Vaughn van Zyl 2/30, Sibonelo Skhosana 2/37, Curtleigh Koetzee 2/44). Mpumalanga won by six runs.
Easterns 166/9 (Jaden Govender 44, Sabelo Mabanga 38, Xavier Coetzee 25, Parth Patel 24; Liviwe Bawuli 3/22, Jesse Lewis 3/24, Trent Huisamen 3/36);
Garden Route Badgers 165 (Extras 38, Kurt Botha 28, Keano Coerecius 27, Joof Enslin 23, Trent Huisamen 23; Parth Patel 2/16, Wian Pieters 2/29). Easterns won by one wicket.
CSA Invitational XI 202/8 (Paul Matlala 40, Vihan Pretorius 39*, Extras 30, Ruben Groenewald 25, Nkosana Sibiya 22; Nathan Rossouw 2/25, Brendin Mathyse 2/32, Marneau Dreyer 2/49);
North West 69/8 (Caiden Seleka 28; Dayalan Boyce 3/16, Ryall Julies 2/7, Paul Matlala /12). CSA Invitational XI won by 132 runs.